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Day: 25 November 2016

Fire in Manchester’s Chinatown

Written by Jennifer Sterne on . Posted in News.

A huge fire broke out in the early hours of Friday morning in a building on Nicholas Street, lighting up Chinatown’s imperial arch.

The fire, inside a commercial building, started at around 02:15 GMT, according to Greater Manchester Fire and Rescue.

Police later confirmed that two bodies were found on the first floor of the building.

Manchester Borough Manager Paul Etches speaking to the media at the scene said the deceased are believed to be homeless. Adding that the building is very unsafe and has been unoccupied and has been for some time.

Police have suggested it is possible the fire may have been started in the building for warmth. The building is known locally to often be inhabited by the homeless. However the police stress that the investigation into the incident has only just started.

Chief Inspector Gareth Parkin, said: “These are tragic circumstances and we working to identify the people who were found in the building.

“A joint investigation with GMFRS is in its early stages and we will be carrying out a number of enquiries to establish how this fire started.”

Councillor Paul Andrews, executive member for adult health and wellbeing for Manchester city council said in response to the news: “This is tragic and shocking news and our hearts go out to those affected by it.

“Our message to anyone who is sleeping rough is please come and access the help and support available. We will find you somewhere safe to stay.”

Amanda Croome, manager of Manchester’s Booth Centre, which offers advice and support for rough sleepers, speaking to the Manchester Evening News said she was stunned by the tragedy.

She told the MEN: “If it is confirmed that the people who were in the building were homeless it is completely awful. I hope that they find the families and are able to break the news to them in a sensitive way.

“Our thoughts are with those families of those people. Dealing with homelessness in the city has got to be a priority. We have all got to work together.

“It is not about attributing blame. The reasons for homelessness are complex. It is never just one problem and never just one solution. But there is just an urgent need to end homelessness in Manchester because more of these type of situations will occur.”

Rough sleeping has dominated headlines over the past few years, with the numbers of homeless increasing dramatically. The most recent official figures by council officials, counted 70 rough sleepers on one night. The reality is believed to be much worse.

Roads were closed around the area, as a fleet of fire engines were needed to tackle the blaze, causing traffic chaos throughout Friday morning.

Photo: Junaid Ali Bokhari

The fire has been brought under control, but a spokesperson from Greater Manchester fire and rescue service confirmed the building has “severe damage” although “no further fire damage to other buildings is expected”.

Bus services were severely affected, with both Stagecoach and First Manchester unable to serve Piccadilly Gardens, causing congestion for students attempting to get in from Fallowfield and Black Friday shoppers.

Portland street was closed between Charlotte Street and Princess Street, until around 10.30 Friday morning.

Phil Nelson, group manager of Greater Manchester Fire and Rescue, confirmed that the use of “two aerial appliances” were used to contain “the fire” and prevent the “spread to other buildings”.

Due to falling debris at the scene, the fire crew were forced to keep back from the severely damaged multi-storey commercial building.

The fire brigade said the blaze was contained by about 6am.

Greater Manchester Police are urging anyone with information about the incident to come forward.

This article was updated at 15.53am after new developments.

Review: Ghosts

Written by Mancunion on . Posted in Theatre.

Ghosts, Henrik Ibsen’s controversial play, reviled upon its first production in 1882, is not on the surface the most pertinent play for a 21st century audience; its major themes are religion, incest, euthanasia, and syphilis. Despite this, director Polly Findlay’s artistic brilliance brings Ghosts into an entirely new realm, that of the modern day.

When taking your seats in the cavernous yet intimate theatre space at HOME, star Niamh Cusack, who plays the play’s protagonist Helen Alving, is sitting on a sofa in the centre of the stage, eating a banana and peeling potatoes. It was clear from the first moment that this was going to be absorbing and emotional, and above all, character-driven, which is hardly surprising in an Ibsen play.

For a show filled with dialogue — raging, agonising, emotive — a remarkable amount goes unsaid.

This new rendering of the play by David Watson, from a literal translation by Charlotte Barslund, combines the weighty speeches of Ibsen with local British dialects, a lot of swearing from the almost comedic Engstrand (played with aplomb by William Travis, who garnered a lot of often raucous laughter), and dialogue littered with modern-day English, far from its origins in 19th century Danish. This dialogue carries every character — all the acting is superb, yet the script really does shine — rumbling along until the final scene of Act 1 and again until the play’s conclusion.

That the show is as provocative now as it was 130 years ago, and still somehow just as relevant, is testament to Findlay and Watson’s unrivalled creativity.

The intricate set resembled a TV studio, giving an eerie sense of being voyeurs of a usually secret and closed-in family life, and the use of sliding doors and artificial daylight and rain really emphasised the outside-looking-in feeling, largely coupled with heavy dramatic irony, as though commenting on a certain 21st century obsession with the lives of others.

However, the set immediately prepares the audience for a play full of unknowing and ambiguity — Findlay has created a space in which there are blindspots for every audience member, but this restricted view is art in action: shadows and lighting, sounds and echoes replace visible characters, giving the audience the sense of truly being in the presence of ‘Ghosts’, and perhaps suggesting that in the modern era there should be some things left unseen.

Findlay’s production harnesses this modernity in the way it breaks up the play’s two acts; an interval would have been detrimental to the play’s pace, so the sudden complete blackout in the theatre, accompanied by deafening rock-esque music and flashes of red light, overlayed with broken, wailing, aggressive poetry, worked well both in heightening the drama of the plot and presenting a moment to think and breathe.

This atmosphere is no doubt a product of the play’s intense focus on character: each player is so multi-layered, unpredictable, and unstable, and their relationships with one another are so mangled between past and present, truth and lies, that it is at times a challenge to keep up, which is surely the intention.

This succeeds thanks to the stellar acting — though it is undoubtedly Niamh Cusack who shines the brightest. She is so convincing as Helen, embodying her character’s emotions and motives so physically that at times it becomes hard to focus on anyone else. The final scenes of each act displayed this prowess — she carries the weight of the world on her shoulders and takes the audience along for the ride.

Overall, the play masterfully implicates the audience in moral and ethical messages, which was the intention of Ibsen back in the 1800s, but is clearly an overwhelming intention too of Findlay’s 21st century version — it’s hard to ignore the sense that these people could live on your road, and that we will never truly know what happens behind closed doors. It’s worth seeing for a multitude of reasons, chiefly for the supreme acting, set design, and thought-provoking modernised script, but don’t expect to come away without a disconcerting sense of foreboding.

UoM Feminist Collective puts on ground-breaking ‘BAME voices’ poetry night

Written by Yasmin Mannan on . Posted in News.

On Thursday 25th of November, The University of Manchester’s Feminist Collective put on the pioneering poetry night ‘BAME (Black and Minority Ethnic) voices’.

The night focussed on poetry dealing with issues which disproportionately affect the BAME community but everyone was welcome.

There was an impressive set-list of professional and amateur poets, including poets from The University of Manchester and Manchester Metropolitan University, who presented spoken-word, prose, and verse pieces on topics such as police brutality, cultural identity, and Donald Trump.

Every piece that was read was met with a warm reception from the full room. The audience was made up primarily of students, including but not restricted to members of The University of Manchester’s  Creative Writing Society and ex-part time Students’ Union officers, as well as members of the Feminist Collective.

The organiser of the night and BAME officer of UOM Feminist Collective, Seevena Raghubeer, told The Mancunion: “I started ‘the Feminist Collective Presents’ to provide a platform for marginalised groups to share their thoughts, feelings and ideas on topics that disproportionately affect us.

“The first event, BAME voice, was even more important to do because of recent events that have left the BAME community worried and fearful for the future. It is a space for feeling safe, loved and most importantly, empowered in our own skin.”

The excellent reception and response to the empowering evening means that it will likely be repeated in the future.

Review: Fantastic Beasts and Where to Find Them

Written by Shema Begum on . Posted in Film.

It has been five years since “Potterheads” have been able to see the Warner Brothers logo appear on screen, followed by John Williams’ iconic Hedwig’s theme. JK Rowling has brought the magic and adventure back into our lives once more with the latest instalment in the Potter-verse.  Fantastic Beasts and Where to Find Them is the first of the five films planned in this spin-off series, which is set to feature some very familiar characters, including Albus Dumbledore and Gellert Grindelwald, who is to be played by Johnny Depp — a controversial choice considering recent events. Studios now more than ever seem to be opting for spin-offs, and the Harry Potter franchise certainly isn’t the first to be joining this trend. Rogue One, the Star Wars spin-off, comes out next month, and it doesn’t stop there. A young Han Solo film is underway, and this is rumoured to be followed by a Boba Fett film.

As exciting as it is for fans to see the expansion of these beloved worlds, scepticism always looms. Studios want greater financial control, and what guarantees them profits more than anything are spin-offs. An audience already exists, who will not only line up at cinemas to watch the film, but will go on to buy the DVDs, books and any other merchandise that is churned out of the film, no matter how bad it may be. Considering all eight Harry Potter films generated over $7 billion, it is a safe bet for Warner Brothers that Fantastic Beasts will go on to be another box office success. You cannot help but think such films are a gimmick of this money making scheme, and so inevitably you question whether it will be good at all. As entertaining Fantastic Beasts gets, it is another commercial endeavour for the studio.

Oscar winner Eddie Redmayne is the socially awkward, animal loving hero, Newt Scamander. The casting choice could not be more ideal. Redmayne offers a certain charm and quirk which makes Newt so loveable. The British wizard arrives in New York in 1926 with a suitcase full of intriguing but reckless creatures. After an incident at the bank, Newt loses his suitcase to No-Maj/Muggle Jacob (Dan Fogler). Fogler’s character has become an instant fan favourite who provides the more comical elements of the film. The ex-soldier who dreams to open up his own bakery is thrown into the mayhem of the magical world, after all animals escape from the suitcase. Jacob and Newt are joined by Tina Goldstein (Katherine Waterston) a worker at MACUSA, the American equivalent of the Ministry of Magic; she lives with her telepathic sister Queenie (Alison Sudol) who forms a bond with Jacob.

The entertainment and fun of the wizarding world is reprised in Fantastic Beasts. David Yates returns to this prequel series, which helps to keep the consistency in the franchise, though arguably he is also in the best position to depict this new era of magic. The mythical creatures are enchanting, and as Newt goes on the hunt for them, the film matches the wondrous and exhilarating experiences of the Potter films. However, this is only a part of the storyline. Rowling has as expected focused on a more darker and dangerous matter. Mary Lou (Samantha Morton) and her adopted children, including Credence (Ezra Miller) proselytise anti-witchcraft messages across the city.  This gives way to what perhaps will be the underlying aspect of the series — a battle between witches and wizards and Muggles (X-Men anyone?).

The subplots don’t stop there. Jon Voight plays Henry Shaw, a character whose family seem to be very powerful and influential in the political realm. The issue, which arises here, is that with the inclusion of all these different aspects to the narrative, it just isn’t very cohesive. You don’t get to learn a lot about the different events happening. Similarly, with the introduction to so many characters you don’t get to know much about them either, this includes the protagonist Newt, and some of the characters are just underused. Though it is enjoyable to watch, the film doesn’t do a good enough job in building up to the climax, which includes a very surprising twist. It is merely satisfactory, and many gaps are left which cannot be justified on the basis that this is going to be a series. Fantastic Beasts essentially works to show what the series will entail, and so the film fails to connect and engage with you. Despite the flaws of the film, Fantastic Beasts has done enough for you to expect much more in the films to come, as some very interesting ideas have been introduced.

3.5/5

Thousands of students take to London streets to oppose TEF

Written by Julie Henri on . Posted in News.

On the 19th of November, police reports state approximately 6,000 students flocked to London to demonstrate against the proposed Higher Education and Research Bill. Among them were many students from the University of Manchester and Manchester Metropolitan University.  “TEFinitely not”, “Degree without debt”,  and “Fight the Tories” were all recurring slogans at the march.

Naa Acquah, the General Secretary of the University of Manchester, told The Mancunion how students from the different universities of Manchester organised themselves to get a coach to London together, showing their determination to gather as many people as possible.

A petition, known as the TEF petition, has also been launched by the University of Manchester’s Students’ Union to convince the The Planning and Resources Committee (PRC), the university’s executive board not to opt into the TEF (Teaching Excellent Framework) before the decision, planned to be made on the 13th of Decemeber. The national deadline for universities to decide whether they will opt into TEF is the 26th of January. More than 400 people have signed the petition so far within 5 days and more signatures are expected.

If implemented, TEF would lead to the ‘best’ universities increasing their tuition fees and raising them each year in line with the inflation rate. Naa stated that “TEF doesn’t even measure quality teaching”, whereas the current government are promoting “student choice and excellent teaching” in the fact-sheet of the bill.

University staff were also walking alongside the students, denouncing measures they believe would neither improve the situation of the students, nor theirs. It is unlikely that staff will get paid more under TEF’s raised tuition fees. The bill seems to have united all those in academia against it. University of Manchester staff have reportedly been very supportive during the campaign against the bill.

At the moment, the bill is already halfway through the process of its passage. It has been read once in the House of Lords, and will be read one more time on the 6th of December. It still needs to go through several stages before being actually implemented, but some universities have already raised their tuition fees over £9,000 for the next academic year.

Naa hopes the University of Manchester “will stick their head above the parapet and go against the mould”.

A student life: treasurer of the cheese and wine society

Written by Stevie Grieves on . Posted in Features.

Before we start, Ollie Carr — treasurer of the University of Manchester Cheese and Wine Society — wants to get straight to the important issues: the Cheese and Wine society does provide vegan cheese.

“It’s expensive,” he laughs, “and no-one ever eats it!” For a society that really does what it says on the tin, you might think this dairy-centric crowd would not be the place for a vegan, but the emphasis of the group is really on getting as many people as they can involved — so soft drinks and even vegan cheese are on the menu!

Ollie’s commitment to making the society one for everyone is clear when he talks about the events they have already held this year. “The society has a really simple ethic — meet up in a room or a bar or a venue, maybe a room in the SU or a bar in central Manchester” to do what they do best: eat cheese and drink wine!

So what can we expect from the events, are they formal and into discussing the quality of last year’s Beaujolais, or are they more relaxed about it all?

“We’re not poncy, you can wear what you want, do what you want, speak to who you want, we just provide the cheese and wine! It’s completely a social thing… we’re not trying to educate you or enforce anything you, make you drink different things at different times, if you have any questions we’re happy to talk about the specifics of it, but it’s just a really chilled vibe!”

With this, it is no wonder that the events the society holds are extremely popular among the student body; the past two events have sold out in under five minutes.

“The tickets have gone absolutely flying, which from a treasurer’s perspective is maybe not good, because we could be selling more tickets and charging more, but that’s not the ethos of the society. We just aim to break even, and if we do make a small amount of profit, we put it all back into better, subsidised events, so then we can bring the prices down even lower.”

“We had our first event at the SU, it was the first event so we had it as a bring-your-own bottle event, I think it was only two or three pounds, and we provided the cheese! It was quite a small event, only about 40 or 50 people, which sold out immediately and went really well!”

The next event they held was a slightly bigger affair at the Liquor Store in Spinningfields, which again sold out and had in attendance near to 80 fans of cheese and wine.

I want to know if the same people tend to go the events or is it easy to meet new people each time, and Ollie laughs: “Sometimes you see familiar faces, there are some real cheese and winos who will probably be on the committee next year, who probably deserve the committee place more than me!”

But mostly it is always a different crowd. “I love watching the newbies come in, because you can tell they expect it to be really weird and elitist, with everybody wearing suits.” But then they see that “it’s much more chilled, especially at the start!” Just loads of students in “Fallowfield garms having cheese and wine… it’s interesting!”

I want to know how he got so involved, in what some might say, is a bit of a niche society.

“So I saw the stall in Fresher’s Week when I was in first year, I went to the events, and applied to be treasurer by the end of the year and luckily I got it!” He jokes that while the other society committee members are firmly there for the cheese, he is very into the wine side of life.

“I really like cheese but wine is actually my thing, there’s a sort of a joke in the committee that I’m the one that really fronts the wine.” Something that he assures, grinning, that you would definitely be able to tell if you went to one of their events.

With the success of the society taking on new heights, I wondered if they had their sights set on taking the society to an international level and planning a trip to sample wine and cheese abroad.

He laughs and says that although they have not formally considered it, it is a great idea and might (definitely) make its way onto his manifesto when he runs for President next year.

He admits there are some great artisanal Cheshire cheese makers around Manchester that could maybe lead to a more local trip, but in the mean time the emphasis firmly lies in having a good time and meeting lots of new people.

“Some people meet up and smoke weed; we meet up and eat cheese and drink wine!”

He promises he has not planned the tag line, but with upcoming elections for President of the society, Ollie looks set to become a real contender to be the Snoop Dogg of the cheese and wine world.

 

Course: Second year Law with Politics

From: St Albans

Best bit: “The glamour.”

Worst bit: “Administrative work and pretending to be an adult, filling in the forms, but it’s absolutely worth it as the society is what I love to do!”

And the million dollar question… favourite cheese?: “Gotta have a top three: Fresh goat’s cheese, so an Ardsallagh and then maybe a fundamental English cheese like a Wensleydale, and then I would have to go to France and have a Camembert.”

And what wine to finish your Camembert off with?: “To go with a Camembert it would be a red — obviously — and I think I’d go for a Merlot, from Bergerac.”

University of Manchester ranked among lowest for environmental sustainability

Written by Niamh Cashell on . Posted in News.

The University of Manchester was ranked as a third class university in terms of its environmental sustainability in a recent league table published by People and Planet.

Universities are scored on a variety of issues relating to sustainability, including their commitment to reduce the institution’s carbon footprint, as well as the receipt of funding and investment from the fossil fuel industry. Also included are employment factors, such as whether universities pay staff the national living wage.

The University of Manchester was poorly ranked at 110 out of 150 universities, and whilst only 25 per cent of universities were on track to reduce their carbon emissions by the targeted 43 per cent from 2005 to 2020, we are among the worst.

In stark contrast to our low position, Manchester Metropolitan University ranked at an impressive third place in the league table. Manchester Metropolitan Vice-Chancellor MalcoLm Press in a statement described the university’s success as, “a wonderful affirmation of the hard work that goes into ensuring that we embed sustainability across everything we do at Manchester Metropolitan”.

Measures implemented by Manchester Metropolitan to increase environmental sustainability include LED lighting, self-cleaning glass, and University-wide recycling. After being scored 91st in the League in 2007, Manchester Metropolitan has worked hard to achieve a top three position for three consecutive years now.

In comparison, the University of Manchester scored particularly badly in its connections with the fossil fuel industry, receiving over £27 million worth of research funding from companies such as BP and Shell.

However, a spokesperson from the University of Manchester criticised the league table, stating “many of the findings in this league table are either out of date, incorrect or measure issues with questionable validity”. For example, Manchester’s environmental strategy reduced both gas and water consumption by 20 per cent from 2012 to 2015.

The spokesperson also highlighted that “Manchester is the only UK University to have social responsibility as a key goal in its strategic plan, of which environmental sustainability is a key part.” For example, the university has just launched its 10,000 Actions programme encouraging staff to develop their own personal sustainability plan, the largest programme of its kind in the UK.

All details of the university’s environmental strategies can be found on the website.

Trump settles lawsuit against Trump University

Written by Tom Patterson on . Posted in News.

The US President-elect, Donald Trump, has settled a lawsuit brought by students against Trump University for £25 million.

Trump U has faced widespread criticism for failing to deliver on promises to its students and actively encouraging aggressive marketing strategies. Staff were rewarded for hard-selling courses to even financially vulnerable adults. Ronald Schnackenberg, a former sales manager at the headquarters in New York, quit in May 2007 because he believed that “Trump University was engaging in misleading, fraudulent and dishonest conduct”.

It initially offered online classes but soon switched the focus to live seminars and events, which were purchased either on an individual basis or as part of larger package deals. However, according to an article in the New Yorker (2nd of June 2016), from when it started operating in 2005, the company was repeatedly warned by the Attorney General’s office that it was breaking the law by calling itself a university. Universities in New York State have to obtain a charter to be officially recognised.

As a sales manager, Schnackenberg received calls from students after they had taken the seminars and said that “in my experience, virtually all students who purchased a Trump University seminar were dissatisfied with the program they purchased”.

Trump had stated he would not settle “out of principle” and had previously criticised one of the judges as being automatically biased against him due to the judge’s Mexican heritage. His lawyers recently filed to postpone the trial date until after his inauguration, in order to give more time for a potential out-of-court settlement.

Having now backtracked on his earlier assertion to see the case to trial, Trump announced on Twitter; “I settled the Trump University lawsuit for a small fraction of the potential award because as President I have to focus on our country.” He later added; “The ONLY bad thing about winning the Presidency is that I did not have the time to go through a long but winning trial on Trump U. Too bad!”

Although the case did not make it to trial in the end, the shadow of the lawsuit will no doubt remain over Trump as his inauguration approaches.

32,000 sign petition in favour of proposition to charge cyclists road insurance

Written by Len Cotton on . Posted in News.

A petition created on change.org to pass legislation to charge cyclists road insurance and make them hold a legal cycling licence has received over 32,000 signatures. The petition was created by a faction of angry motorists who claimed to be ‘fed up’ of cyclists disobeying the rules of the road.

This comes after Theresa May has been pressurised to propose changes to try and increase road safety and awareness amongst cyclists after 21,287 bike-related accidents occurred in 2014 alone.

The proposal is being pushed by the group to be debated in Parliament as many drivers feel that they are being unfairly penalised in cycling-related accidents, when it is actually the cyclist who is at fault.

The petition’s creator, Owen McDermott stated, “If a cyclist throws him or herself into the back of a stationary motor vehicle, who’s to blame? Not the cyclist. The driver of the motor vehicle would have to pay their own excess to repair the damages”.

However, many students have come forward in opposition to this campaign, feeling that increasing the cost of cycling would be an act of unjust discrimination against those who cannot afford to drive. With the cheapest car insurance quotes often totalling approximately £800 per year, bus passes £200 and railcards £25 per year, cycling is the cheapest method of transport available to students and young people.

After Manchester council have spent the last two years refurbishing Oxford Road to accommodate for cyclists travelling from Fallowfield to the city centre, the proposal has aroused a large amount of controversy.

Second year History and Politics student, Beth, said: “By making people pay for licences and regulating cyclists more it would put me and probably many more people off cycling as they have chosen to cycling as a cheap and easy option of transport.”

If prices for cyclists’ road insurance and licenses are to be anything similar to that of cars, then bike-users could be looking at paying an extra £1,000 — almost ten times that of a good quality road bike.

What is more, the proposition to implement road insurance and license fees for cyclists poses another blow to an already declining green initiative in Britain. After the Department for Energy and Climate Change faced severe cut backs upon Theresa May becoming Prime Minister students at Manchester have been questioning how the petition’s content could threaten the reduction of CO2 emissions.

Indeed, Cyclingscheme.co.uk released the statistics that 44,000 tonnes of CO2 would be saved each week if all 5 mile commutes in England were made by bike. Furthermore, as cycling is a healthier alternative to driving or catching public transport, their research also found that £83m was saved annually by cycle commuters taking one day less off sick each year.

The government are yet to respond to the petition, but with its popularity increasing at a rapid rate, it could well be possible that extra charges for cyclists will be implemented in the future.

Preview: Interfaith Evening – ‘We Stand Together’

Written by Yasmin Mannan on . Posted in News.

On Wednesday 7th December, the Students’ Union, Foundation for Ethnic Understanding, and Faith Network 4 Manchester, as part of a wider community week, will be hosting ‘We Stand Together’ — an event to promote community cohesion and celebrate the diversity of faiths in Manchester.

Among the organisers of the event are Rabbi Warren Elf and award-winning novelist Qaisra Shahraz, who The Mancunion interviewed in March.

There will be talks by students of different faiths, prompting discussions of shared values and beliefs and promoting messages of peace and unity. An abundance and variety of wonderful food will also be provided.

Manchester is the second most diverse city in the UK, and an interfaith event is an important way to showcase the cohesion of different faiths within the city. In a particularly politically and culturally divisive climate, interfaith events remind us that we have much more in common than that which divides us.

‘We Stand Together’ will take place in the Council Chambers in the Students’ Union from 6pm–8pm on 7th of December. Everyone is welcome.